Category: UFC

UFC Creates First Female Featherweight Title Fight

The UFC announced late Tuesday night the first-ever female featherweight title fight, and Cris “Cyborg” Justino is not part of it. After Cyborg turned down bouts with Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie, the promotion decided to pair Holm and de Randamie at UFC 208 to crown a champion at 145 pounds.

Cyborg, the reigning Invicta FC featherweight champion, stated in previous interviews that she could not cut down to 145 pounds within the timeline the UFC set before her. She was sworn in as an American citizen on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Holm is a former UFC bantamweight champion, but is coming off back-to-back losses to Miesha Tate for the title and to Valentina Shevchenko. De Randamie sports a 4-1 record over her last five fights, falling only to current UFC champion Amanda Nunes.

Source: WrestlingINC

Cyborg did issue a comment on her Twitter page, calling out both the UFC and Bellator MMA.

News On CM Punk Possibly Fighting In UFC Again

CM Punk recently appeared on The MMA Hour and revealed that he recently met with UFC President Dana White and said that he wants to fight again. He noted that they’ve been going back and forth, and that an announcement may be coming soon.

Punk’s coach, Duke Roufus, also recently appeared on The MMA Hour and said that it was “looking hopeful” that Punk would fight in the UFC again, possibly as soon as “four to five months.”

“Yeah, definitely, I believe he and Dana are talking,” Roufus said. “I just talked to Punk on Monday before that, and things are looking hopeful. I can’t say yes or no, but they’re looking hopeful. We’re going to see. Dana’s always got a good recipe of what he’s going to create, and what’s best for the sport, and what’s best for Punk and everyone else.”

Punk suffered a one-sided loss in his UFC debut to Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in September. Gall submitted Punk in just 2 minutes and 45 seconds of the first round with a rear-naked choke. Roufus noted that Punk didn’t perform the way that he would have liked against Gall, but said that he was getting better.

“He’s going to get better,” Roufus said. “Obviously, he didn’t perform the way we wanted to perform. We had some things he was doing really well with, he just didn’t happen. It’s just going to take time. But the great thing is he has an incredible attitude, and he’s very thankful for the opportunities. He’s getting better, he’s back in training and right after this fight I’ll picking up big time with him.”

Source: WrestlingINC

UFC 206: Holloway vs Pettis 12/10/16

At the Weigh-ins for UFC 206, main event fighter Anthony Pettis missed weight. “Showtime” came in three pounds heavy for his interim featherweight title fight with Max Holloway, who successfully weighed in at 145 pounds. The bout will still go on, with Holloway being the only one eligible to win the title and Pettis forfeiting 20 percent of his purse to “Blessed.”

Two other fighters also missed weight – Valerie Letourneau and Rustam Khabilov.

MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

* Max Holloway (145 lbs.) vs. Anthony Pettis (148) for interim UFC featherweight championship

* Matt Brown (171) vs. Donald Cerrone (170.5)

* Dooho Choi (145.5) vs. Cub Swanson (146)

* Kelvin Gastelum (185) vs. Tim Kennedy (186)

* Emil Meek (170.5) vs. Jordan Mein (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)

* Misha Cirkunov (205) vs. Nikita Krylov (206)

* Olivier Aubin-Mercier (156) vs. Drew Dober (156)

* Valerie Letourneau (117.5) vs. Viviane Pereira (114)

* Mitch Gagnon (135.5) vs. Matthew Lopez (136)

PRELMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6:30 p.m. ET)

* John Makdessi (155) vs. Lando Vannata (156)

* Rustam Khabilov (158.5) vs. Jason Saggo (155)

* Zach Makovsky (125) vs. Dustin Ortiz (125)

TMZ Sports Releases A Goosebump Worthy Promo For UFC 207

With just 23 days left until UFC 207 it was only a matter of time the epic promos would start rolling out.

UFC 207 will mark the first time Amanda Nunes looks to defend her woman’s bantamweight title. It also marks the anticipated return of Ronda Rousey, someone we haven’t seen in the octagon in over a year.

It’s been a crazy year to say the least for the women’s bantamweight division in the UFC since Rousey lost the title last November we’ve seen it change hands two more times (Tate and Nunes). Rousey successfully defended her title six times before eventually dropping it to Holy Holm.

There has only  been four women bantamweight champions in the UFC thus far. All with the exception of Rousey lost it in their first defense. The Lionness looks to break that pattern but the question remains can she get it done?

Rousey has kept a pretty low radar leading up to her return but this promo sure does give the impression that she is ready. You can’t tell us this doesn’t give you chills. Check it out here https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=GkjgwsttfQk

The fight goes down live in Las Vegas at the T-Mobil arena in Las Vegas NV on Friday December 30th. Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments below

Conor McGregor No Longer Two-Division UFC Champion, New Main Event For UFC 206 Set

The UFC has taken one title away from Conor McGregor, as “Notorious” has relinquished his featherweight belt. McGregor remains the UFC lightweight champion, but officials announced on Saturday night that the titleholder of the featherweight division will once again be Jose Aldo.

With that, the UFC 206 main event next month from Toronto will see Anthony Pettis – a former UFC lightweight champion – and Max Holloway square off for the interim belt at 145 pounds. The winner of Pettis-Holloway is expected to face Aldo in 2017 to unify the belts.

Last year, McGregor defeated Aldo in a similar match, knocking out the long-time champion in a matter of seconds. Interestingly enough, Aldo was first rewarded the UFC featherweight title after the merger between the UFC and WEC was complete.

Below is a statement from the UFC:

UFC announced on Saturday that world lightweight champion Conor McGregor has vacated his featherweight title and opted to keep the 155-pound title he won by defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on Nov. 12.Interim featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo has now been elevated to undisputed champion, and following these developments, the interim UFC featherweight title will be on the line on Saturday, Dec. 10, as Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis battle for championship gold in the new main event of UFC 206.

The winner of the five-round bout, which will be held at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, will face Aldo in 2017 for the unified belt.

This bout replaces the UFC light heavyweight championship bout between Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, which was scrapped when Cormier was forced to withdraw from the rematch on Friday due to injury.

In the main event of the historic UFC 205 event in Madison Square Garden, McGregor continued to make history when he stopped Alvarez in the second round to become the first fighter to hold two UFC titles simultaneously. With his decision to vacate the crown, McGregor’s longtime rival Aldo, who bounced back from his December 2015 loss to the Irishman by defeating Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight title at UFC 200 in July, will now await the winner of Holloway vs. Pettis as he begins his second reign atop the division he ruled for over five years.

Also announced Saturday was a middleweight match between Kelvin Gastelum and Tim Kennedy that will take place on Dec. 10 as well, pending commission approval.

Source: WrestlingINC

First Look: UFC207 Nunes VS Rousey 

Tomorrow  (November 14th, 2016) will mark the year anniversary the world of MMA saw something many thought we would never see. Previously undefeated Ronda Rousey (at the time was 12-0) was defeated by Holy Holm in a second round knock out.

After that loss many wondered would Rousey ever come back and more importantly what’s next for the women’s bantamweight division?

Since Rousey’s absence  the title has changed hands two times. Newly retired Miesha Tate defeated then champion Holy Holm via submission by rear naked choke in the 5th round at UFC197

Just four months later Amanda Nunes defeated Tate in a first round submission at UFC200.

Now we have the very first look at the main event of UFC207 Nunes VS Rousey and it’s awesome. No matter how you feel about Rousey there’s no denying this is an anticipated return. Is her time up? Will the Lioness remain supreme? Or will Rowdy achieve the ultimate comeback story and once again be on top of the mountain? Only time will tell but one thing is for sure. We’re excited about it.

Nunes (13-4) vs Rousey (12-1) will be the main event and  is set to take place on December 30th 2016 live from the T Mobil arena in Las Vegas. The co main event will see Dominic Cruz defending his bantamweight title against Cody Garbrandt 

Miesha “Cupcake” Tate Announces Retirement 

In what was a historic night at Madison Square Garden UFC205 is an event that people will be talking about for quite sometime.

It was a night where we saw successful title defenses from both Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Tyron Woodley, Conor McGregor made history by becoming the UFC’s very first two division champion.

November 12th, 2016 was also the night we saw one of the greatest in women’s mixed martial arts take her final bow. The former Bantamweight champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate announced in her post fight interview that she is retiring.

Last night she lost to Raquel Pennington via unanimous decision. When asked if the retirement was brought on by the result she replied with

Yes I tried but I couldn’t pull it out of me. I just don’t have it in me anymore

Tate couched Pennington on The Ultimate Fighter season 18 and after the fight the teacher and student shared a beautiful moment.
Whether or not you’re a fan of Miesha Tate there’s no denying the contributions she brought to the world of WMMA. A former Strikeforce and UFC champion with a record of (18-6) cupcake or as the old school fans know her “Takedown” deserves respect.
Thank you Meisha. The Octagon will miss you.

UFC 205: Alvarez vs McGregor 11/12/16 Fight Card – NY

Image result for UFC 205 NY

UFC 205 11/12/16  Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 

MAIN CARD

UFC Lightweight Championship
Eddie Alvarez (c) vs Conor McGregor

UFC Welterweight Championship
Tyron Woodley (c) vs Stephen Thompson

UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Joanna J?drzejczyk (c) vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Middleweight: Chris Weidman vs Yoel Romero

Welterweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs Donald Cerrone

Women’s Bantamweight: Miesha Tate vs Raquel Pennington

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1)

Featherweight: Frankie Edgar vs Jeremy Stephens

Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Michael Johnson

Middleweight: Rafael Natal vs Tim Boetsch

Welterweight: Vicente Luque vs Belal Muhammad

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS)

Lightweight: Jim Miller vs Thiago Alves

Women’s Bantamweight: Liz Carmouche vs Katlyn Chookagian

Jon Jones Given A One-Year Suspension By USADA

Jon Jones was given a one-year suspension for his use of a banned substance during a July failed drug test, the USADA announced on Monday. Jones, who still holds the interim UFC light heavyweight title, will be allowed to compete again next July, as the suspension is retroactive to the date of the failed test.

Source: WrestlingINC

The UFC released a statement:

UFC is aware of the one-year sanction levied against Jon Jones as a result of his UFC Anti-Doping Policy violation, decided by a three-person arbitration panel held on Monday, October 31, 2016. UFC has been advised that the one-year suspension commenced on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. While the decision indicates no evidence of Jones’ intentional use of banned substances, it does highlight the care and diligence that is required by athletes competing in the UFC to ensure that no prohibited substances enter their system.

Ronda Rousey Talks To Ellen About Her Return To The Octagon & Her Future

Ahead of the program airing later today, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” released a portion of an interview with Ronda Rousey. The former champion returns to the Octagon for the first time in over a year this December at UFC 207 vs. Amanda Nunes for the female bantamweight title.

Rousey talks in-depth about her decision to return, how long she plans on competing still and even her relationship with fellow UFC fighter Travis Browne during the interview. Of note, the former Olympic bronze medalist sees UFC 207 as the beginning of the end for her at 29 years old.

“Not that long, I’m wrapping it up,” Rousey said. “This is definitely one of my last fights. Everyone better watch. The show isn’t going to be around forever.”

Source: WrestlingINC